Dark Soul
by Tampra Weaver
Summary: Zaria returns, a dark and broken soul. Her only sanity is a male she converted. Zacarias De La Cruz has chosen to seek the dawn and die with honor, but when a dark and tormented woman comes to him, can they save one another or will they both be lost?
1. Chapter 1

Zaria Daratrazanoff sat at her vanity in her bedroom in the grand house she lived in-her prison. She had all the things she could ever desire on the outside, but no one knew what life was like on the inside of the beautiful house that smelt of death and screamed of evil. Life was not as a piece of cake when you lived in a house with vampires.

" There's my beautiful girl." Sergey Malinov-Zaria's biological father-said as he opened her bedroom door and walked in with a necklace box in his hand. Zaria cut her garnet eyes up at him in the mirror, sighing.

" Another one? More gifts to commemorate the day you ruined my life, Sergey?" She inquired, her voice dripping with disdain as he placed the silver chain with a large diamond hanging from it around her neck. He tightened the chain around her neck, snatching her back against him.

" I gave you a life, Zaria. An army at your beck and call. Every piece of jewelry that you could ever desire. Allowed you to get degree after degree. What more could you ask for? I have not killed you when I certainly could have." He reminded, fastening the chain around her neck and stepping back. Zaria whirled to face him, garnet eyes blazing.

" You have not killed me because you need me, Sergey. Let's face it." Zaria snapped, standing up, her hands on her hips. Sergey moved then, wrapping his hand around her throat and slamming her into the wall so hard that a mirror shattered and rained glass down on her, forcing her to close her eyes and cover her head.

" You are right. If I didn't need you to control my army, I never would have kept someone so damn troublesome alive." Sergey said, releasing her.

" Sure, whatever." She snapped, moving back to her vanity and sitting down, her back to Sergey, showing she wasn't the least bit scared of him nor what he might do to her.

" Get dress, Zaria. I have a job for you." He ordered, flinging a pair of leather pants and a black leather v-neck, three-quarter sleeve blouse onto the bed with a pair of black high heeled boots.

" Oh, joy." She commented, rolling her eyes at him.

Inara Daratrazanoff looked over at her eldest daughter, Damalia, who was sitting on the couch next to her lifemate, Tariq Asenguard, looking through a photo album of Damalia's childhood with her beloved younger sister, Zaria, who had been missing since she was six years old.

Tiberiu Bercovitz-Inara's lifemate and the man Damalia considered her father-laid his hand on Inara's shoulder, brushing her mind with his. He knew how hard this day was on her. Zaria had been the baby of the family and loved dearly by them all. Her kidnapping all those years ago had ripped something from them that they could never get back. Any trace of Zaria had disappeared, leading them to believe she had been taken from the mountains-maybe the entire European continent. Any hope of finding her was pretty much lost along with her trail.

" I miss her." Damalia said as Tariq and Tiberiu both went completely rigid.

" Mikhail is under attack." Tiberiu said as they sprang up, fleeing towards the home of Mikhail Dubrinsky-the Carpathian prince-unsure who would attack them when there was no hint of an attack. Things had been quiet in the mountains. Too quiet apparently.

" We must hurry." Tariq said, not stopping to argue with Damalia on staying behind.

Mikhail whirled, slicing at a vampire as he tried to keep his lifemate, Raven, behind him. His younger brother, Jacques, and his lifemate, Shea, were off to his left fighting as well. His second-in-command and son-in-law as well as oldest friend, Gregori Daratrazanoff, was off to his right fighting alongside his lifemate-Mikhail and Raven's daughter-Savannah.

There were numerous other couples, Ivory Malinov, her lifemate, Razvan Shonski, his twin sister, Natalya, her lifemate, Virkinoff Von Shrieder, his younger brother, Nicolae, his lifemate, Destiny, another couple, Falcon, and Sara, Julian Savage, his lifemate, Desari Daratrazanoff, Darius Daratrazanoff, his lifemate, Tempest, Aidan Savage, his lifemate, Alexandria, Gabriel Daratrazanoff, his lifemate, Francesca, Dimitri, his lifemate, Skyler, Lucian Daratrazanoff, and his lifemate, Jaxon, all fighting the vampires valiantly when Tiberiu, Inara, Damalia, and Tariq exploded onto the scene and joined the fierce battle.

" We're not going to survive this." Mikhail said to Gregori who sliced at a vampire. Gregori nodded gravely. He knew they were going to fall as well. They could only go out fighting.

" It has been an honor, Mikhail." Gregori said. Mikhail gave him a tight smile.

A vampire launched himself at Raven, knocking her backwards, away from Mikhail. He was about to tear into her when he was suddenly ripped away from her, flying backwards into a tree. Raven found herself staring up into the face of a young woman in a pair of dark shades. She held her hand out, pulling Raven easily to her feet. She shoved two swords into her hands and then let out a small sigh.

" I hate vampires. They have to be the most disorganized creatures." The young woman-a child really-said, rubbing the bridge of her nose and rolling her eyes before dropping her hand and letting out a high pitched whistle, stopping the vampires in their tracks.

They all turned to face her as she stepped away from Raven. The vampires all stepped back, abandoning their battle. The real fear in their eyes was jaw dropping as they watched the young woman dressed in all leather with leather boots that came to her thighs and her long raven hair with a strange silver streak framing her face falling to her hips in sensual curls.

" What are you doing here? We left you in the cave. You should not have been able to escape." One vampire snarled. The young woman produced a silver collar and threw it to him.

" You really should learn new spells." She taunted, gathering energy in her hands so that it glowed white hot and nearly as bright as the sun.

" You do not want to do that." One vampire said, trying to appease her. She raised an eyebrow at him.

" Well, Roberto, you could always fight to see who I spare." She said, shrugging. She took several steps back when a frenzied battle between the vampires broke out. She leaned casually against a tree, continuing to gather the energy in her hands.

" I have never seen anything like this. I've only ever seen Lucian control a vampire with his voice." Gabriel said, staring at the young woman as she casually lobbed the ball of energy into the fray, killing all but one vampire.

" Hmm. Roberto." She mused, walking towards him, the sway of her hips hypnotic, her movements graceful.

" Come away from here, little one." He said, holding his hand out to her. To everyone's shocked horror, she placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to him.

Roberto's eyes widened as he looked down to see the woman's little fist buried in his chest. He felt her fingers close around his heart, nails digging into the organ painfully. His eyes snapped to her face, confusion on his.

" I wanted this death for you, Roberto. I owe it to you. I wanted to feel my fingers around your heart and know that I'm the one who took your life. He was an idiot to think I would remain loyal to him. You didn't honestly think I would spare you, did you? I've been around you vampires for most of my life, I managed to pick up a few tricks along the way. One of them happens to be deception." She said, smiling sweetly at him a flames licked along her arm, burning Roberto from the inside out.

" He will kill your girls now. Those he doesn't kill will come after you. You betrayed not only him, but them as well." He said as he turned completely into ash. She removed her fist, waving her hand to send his ashes scattering about the land.

" You saved my life." Raven said, stepping forward and holding out the swords she had been given.

" I should have been here sooner." She said, shaking her head and pushing the swords back towards Raven. " You keep them. This war is far from over. He will send vampiresses and they are trickier to kill. They will not sacrifice one another like vampires." She said, turning towards the woods.

" Wait, what is your name?" Mikhail inquired.

" I had a name once, but no longer. I am no longer that little girl. That girl is long gone, leaving death in her place." She replied, turning and walking off.

" Wait, there was a child taken from us years ago. Her name was Zaria. Is she still alive?" Gregori asked.

" No. She died long ago. She had no choice. She broke and could not be repaired no matter who tried. Even if the true Zaria was alive, you would not want her back. She would be cold, cruel, and uncaring." She replied, turning and walking off.

" Zari-bug!" Damalia screamed, causing the girl to hesitate. She shuddered, shaking her head.

" Zaria, do not do this to your family. You fought too hard to just walk away." A male said, walking into the clearing. The girl's head snapped up.

" John, what are you doing here?" She asked, looking up at him.

" Well, someone had to make sure you didn't do something stupid." He replied, flashing her a smile. She raised an eyebrow at him.

" I never do anything stupid." She replied, indignant.

" What you're about to do isn't?" He inquired, moving suddenly, heaving her over his shoulder and carrying her back to the others, ignoring her struggles.

" Put me down right now, John! Now!" She growled, kicking.

" No. Zaria, you saved my life and you deserve to be with your family once again. You're not evil like you think you are." John said. Zaria ceased her struggles and turned to look at him over her shoulder.

" I never said I thought I was evil." She informed him hotly.

" No, but you think it quite frequently." He replied, setting her on her feet.

" I thought I told you to stay out of my head." She hissed, glaring at him.

" I do not recall that conversation." He mused, flicking her shades off her face to reveal a pair of vivid garnet-almost scarlet-eyes flashing fire at him.

" I'm sure you don't." She muttered dryly, gripping his hand hard as she turned to face her family. John moved his hand, grimacing as he wiggled his fingers. _Um…Zaria, you are crushing my hand. _He said on their private mental path-one created through a blood bond. _Oh! Sorry! _She replied, snatching her hand away. John shook his hand, giving her a tight smile.

" Zaria, why did you tell us you were dead? Honey, we have missed you so." Inara said, reaching up and touching Zaria's face. It was no longer the chubby face of a child they had all known, this was the face of a woman with eyes of a woman who had seen far too much.

" Because I am dead. I'm not the little girl you once knew." She said, dropping her head. John moved, placing his foot directly on top of hers. She grounded her teeth together and elbowed him, glaring.

" Zaria, you may not be the same girl, but you are our little girl. We have searched constantly for you all these years." Tiberiu said, stepping forward and cupping Zaria's face in his hands.

" Dad…." Zaria choked, reaching back and taking John's hand. He in turn gave her a little shove towards Tiberiu.

" Zaria." He whispered, pulling her into his arms before stepping back to look at her. " Is this your lifemate?" He inquired, looking at John through narrowed eyes.

Zaria and John both looked horrified as they dropped one another's hands and stepped away from each other, shaking their heads and making a faces of disgust.

" If I had John as a lifemate I would run screaming into the dawn." Zaria said, shaking her head again in protest to the notion.

" You would have to beat me to it." John stated, shuddering at the thought of being bound to someone he looked at like a sister-his best friend. Zaria gave him a small smile.

" Okay, that just makes this situation a little more confusing as he seems to still have his colors and emotions." Tiberiu said.

" That's because he has only been in his Carpathian life for about a year." Zaria said, biting her bottom lip.

" You were not born Carpathian?" Mikhail asked, stiffening.

" No, Sergey was going to convert me, but Zaria did it before he got the chance, to save me the pain." John said, his head held high.

" You know why I did it, John. A lot of it was to save you pain, but a lot of it was because I needed a friend." Zaria admitted. John shrugged.

" I do not care why you did it, Zaria, but I'm glad you did." John said, watching as she fisted one hand and rubbed it against her temple. He sighed, glancing up at the sky.

" What is it?" Inara asked, looking up as well.

" Headache?" John asked. Zaria nodded.

" A little one." She allowed, still rubbing her temple. He sighed again, shaking his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Mikhail looked out his window to where Zaria and John were sitting with Damalia and Skyler. This could end very badly if John turned vampire with his and Zaria's bond. Zaria converting a human was also a problem. Had it been a female, it would have been simple, but it was a male.

" You are worried." Tiberiu made it a statement.

" I am. That male could cause issues with the ancients. They are not going to like how close those two are." Mikhail said.

" He's her friend and their relationship is more like that of a brother and sister." Raven said, her hands on her hips.

" I understand that, Raven, but our males do not get that close to our females for a reason. If he turns, he could fixate on Zaria and I am not sure she could kill him." Mikhail said.

" Yes, she would. They have a pact, and if I know anything about her, she seems to keep her word." Tariq said, obviously merged with Mali.

" The fact that she keeps having headaches bothers me. Carpathians do not have headaches frequently." Gregori said.

" Gregori, the girl has been living with vampires since she was six years old. She's been traumatized to an unknown extent. You would have headaches, too." Tiberiu pointed out.

" Zaria has expressed a desire to live on her own." Inara said suddenly.

" By on her own she means with that boy, I'm sure." Gabriel said between his teeth.

" Gabriel, they bonded. They were both in hell together. You have to respect that bond and he doesn't seem to be a bad person." Francesca said, her hand on his arm.

" She is only sixteen. She is far too young to live alone." Virkinoff protested, eyeing the girl and the man who was her best friend. It was strange seeing a grown man so close to a teenage girl without a hint of inappropriate thoughts. They had all seen into his mind, seen his outlook on Zaria. She was his best friend and like a younger sister to him.

" But she is not a child." Skyler said as she walked into the house. " John is a sweet guy, I can see why Zaria spared him. He has a good, caring soul. He is Zaria's sanity." She added seriously.

" What do you mean? Of course she is a child." Lucian said. Skyler shook her head.

" No, she's not. She has the age of a child, but the body and mind of an adult. Zaria's never was a true child, and now, any childlike qualities she had are gone. She is not the innocent child we all want to see. Zaria is a force to be reckoned with." Skyler explained, raking a hand through her copper streaked blond hair.

" Skyler, you do not think she has been abused….sexually, do you?" Inara managed to choke out, wrapping her arms around Tiberiu for comfort.

" I'm pretty sure of it. Every time I touch her I get glimpses of immense pain, but if she's touching John, the pain in numbed. I believe he was there with her through it all. He is probably the only reason she is still alive and sane. He is not her lifemate, but he does have a unique bond with her. One that cannot be broken. One that is almost like the bond Lucian and Gabriel share." Skyler said, frowning over the strange bond.

" What Gabriel and Lucian have is a bond formed by being twins." Gregori said.

" Okay, like the bond Ivory has with the earth or Darius and the Dark Troubadours have. A bond formed by a trauma-by living in hell." Skyler said, sighing.

" Tiberiu, Inara, it is your choice. If you allow her and this male to live on their own, you will have our full support. The full support of the Carpathian people." Mikhail declared, daring anyone to challenge his word. Inara and Tiberiu were silent for a long time, locked in a silent conversation. Tiberiu sighed, nodding in agreement to whatever Inara was saying.

" We will let them try it, but if it does not work out, then she will return to our home." Tiberiu said.

" Then so be it." Mikhail said, nodding as Inara and Tiberiu walked out to speak with Zaria.

Zaria looked up when she heard Inara and Tiberiu exit Mikhail's home. She was sitting on the ground with John and Damalia. She had her legs folded Indian style, her hands resting limply in her lap. She looked like the picture of ease until one looked into her vivid garnet eyes. They were eyes that saw and took note of everything, eyes that never rested.

" Zaria, we would like to talk to you and John about your living conditions." Inara said softly. Zaria nodded, an eyebrow raised. John elbowed her gently in her side to urge her to speak.

" That is fine." Zaria said softly, reaching back and taking John's hand once again. Her sanity. Her rock. Her best friend.

" We've decided that living on your own is the best idea. At least until the two of you become comfortable in Carpathian society again. I know you both know the laws and rules about lifemates and since you both know you are not lifemates, there should not be a problem." Tiberiu said, leveling John with a heavy stare.

" I have no inappropriate thoughts about Zaria, sir. She is my best friend and like a little sister to me." John said, tightening his hand around Zaria's smaller one.

" John is my best friend. He tried to protect me and kept me sane when I would have lost it completely." Zaria said, squeezing John's hand.

" A best friend who is going to have serious damage in his hand if you do not quit crushing the bones." John reminded, wiggling his fingers. Zaria snatched her hand back again.

" Sorry, John. Nervous habit." She whispered, giving him a sheepish smile. He smiled back softly.

" No problem. As long as you plan on healing my hand, feel free to crush my bones any time." He said, flashing her a boyish grin. Zaria gave him a dubious look, shaking her head as a ghost of a smile flirted with her full lips. " Was that a smile?" John asked. Zaria raised an eyebrow at him.

" What are you talking about?" Zaria asked, frowning.

" You smiled." John said.

" I did not." Zaria denied quickly.

" Yes, you did." John argued, crossing his arms. " It was a ghost of a smile, but one nonetheless." He stated. Zaria crossed her arms and glared at him.

" I think you have lost your mind." She shot, still glaring.

" Maybe so, but I know what I saw. My eyes are great." John said, lifting his chin defiantly. Zaria raised her eyebrow at him, lifting her chin just as defiantly.

" Maybe your eyes do need to be examined because I did not smile. I do not smile." She stated firmly. John rolled his eyes at her.

" Whatever, Zaria. I saw you smile and you smiled every time you had Sergey cussing and pulling out what very little hair he has." John said. A bittersweet smile did curve her lush mouth then.

" That was different." She said. John started laughing then, shaking his head.

" Sure it was, Zaria. Sure it was. You still smiled. Who cares if you were torturing a vampire. A smile is a smile." John said as she rolled her eyes at him.

" It was nice of Mikhail to give us his house. I do wish he had let us pay him." John said as he sat down on the little couch in the house he shared with Zaria. Zaria looked up from her paperwork at her desk in the small corner of the living room-the original dining room-she had turned into an office.

" I slipped the money into his pocket when he wasn't looking." She said, going right back to her paperwork.

" My sneaky little Zaria." John laughed. Zaria rolled her garnet eyes.

" Nothing sneaky about it. I merely blurred his mind and slipped it in his pocket." Zaria said, typing furiously on her computer.

" Do they know you are capable of manipulating their minds?" John asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

" Probably not. I do not intend on telling them." Zaria said, glancing up once again to find he still had his eyebrow raised. " You aren't going to tell them either. It is best they do not know." She ordered.

" I had no intention of doing such a thing." He said, shaking his head.

" Thanks." She said, looking back at her paperwork. John sighed and picked up his guitar, playing softly. He had to get Zaria to relax.

John looked up when someone knocked on the door. He moved to see Inara, Tiberiu, Mikhail, Raven, Savannah, and Gregori. He smiled and let them in as Zaria let out a frustrated sighed, rubbing her temples as she leaned back in her chair, squeezing her eyes shut.

" Still having headaches?" Gregori asked, walking over, placing his hands on her temples, rubbing in soothing circles to ease the pain. She gave him a grateful smile.

" Thanks." She whispered, pulling away from him, a small retreat that had Gregori suppressing a sigh. His once lovable Zaria who was always in the mood for a hug or being cuddled could no longer stand to be touched by any male other than John. She was wary of them all, preferring to stay to herself and only socialize when it was absolutely necessary.

" How are the two of you feeling?" Inara asked, smiling warmly.

" I'm fine. John?" Zaria asked.

" I would be better if I could get a smile out of you." John said, giving her a meaningful stare. She rolled her eyes and gave him a forced smile, curling up on the couch and tugging a pillow into her lap to hug. Inara sighed, glancing at Tiberiu. Would they ever get her back? Would she ever return to normal? How would they do it?


	3. Chapter 3

Damalia walked in to the little house Zaria-now eighteen-owned. John had been killed in battle protecting Mikhail and it only served to shove Zaria farther away from them. Any process she had made had all been lost upon John's death. She had only withdrawn into herself more, shutting everyone out. It had been a deliberate attack by Sergey. Mikhail had not been the target at all. John had.

Zaria was bent over a large book she was using in her research, slowly reemerging from her shell. She was finally beginning to come out of her fortress some. The girl had doctorates in several areas of study and was working on God only knew what. The only people she smiled at and teased was Tiberiu, Inara, Skyler, Damalia, and occasionally Dimitri and Tariq.

" Zaria, what are you doing?" Damalia asked, causing Zaria to jump.

" Work, Mali. What do you need?" Zaria asked, looking up at her beloved older sister.

" Just came to see how you were feeling. We are worried, Z. Those headaches aren't normal." Damalia said. Zaria gave her a bittersweet smile.

" I'm not sure if have noticed or not, Mali, but I've never exactly been normal." She stated, closing the book as several papers shot out of her printer.

" Hmm. I have noticed that peculiar phenomenon, but I thought it best not to ask." Damalia teased. Zaria smiled at her. A small smile, but real nonetheless.

" I do wish you all would quit discussing me. I'm a freaky Carpathian. I have headaches, big deal." Zaria gushed as she sank down in her chair. Damalia nodded, eyeing something on Brazil laying on Zaria's desk. Zaria smoothly picked up a piece of paper, scanned over it, and laid it on the information on Brazil, sealing it from Damalia's view.

" Freaky. Now that is one word for you." Damalia laughed. Zaria rolled her eyes.

" You know I love you, Mali, right?" Zaria asked suddenly. The smile faded from Damalia's face and she turned to face her little sister.

" Of course I know you love me, Z. I love you too. Do not doubt that. Ever." Damalia said, hugging her. " Get some sleep." Damalia said. Zaria nodded and looked at her papers on Brazil. She had to go. He needed her. He would not last.

Tiberiu frowned as he and Inara searched Zaria's empty home over. Everything was exactly as she had left it. Only Zaria was missing. There had been no disturbance and her mind had been calm when Tiberiu had touched it minutes before. Had he only picked up what Zaria wanted him to? Was she that powerful? That capable? Did he really know the extent of his beloved daughter's powers and abilities?

" Tiberiu." Inara breathed, turning to face him a letter in her trembling hand. Her eyes were filled with tears, her mouth trembling. " She's gone." She whispered, holding the letter out to him even as he put the call out to Mikhail and Gregori.

" What happened?" Mikhail demanded as he rushed in with Gregori, Raven, Savannah, Jacques, Shea, Damalia, and Tariq. Tiberiu merely held the letter out to him as he wrapped his arms around Inara.

" Mom, Dad, and My Beloved Family,

I am so sorry if this causes you pain. I have no other choice. My lifemate is in dire need of me. He will not last to chance a possible meeting. It may be selfish, but I cannot let him choose the dawn or become the very thing he hunts. I will not. Do not attempt to chase and stop me. I will see the decision and elude you. I must do this. I will contact you when we are Both safe. I love you all and I will return.

Love,

Zaria." Mikhail frowned at the letter. How did she know her lifemate was in trouble? Had she connected with him? Why hadn't she said anything? Did she really distrust them that much?

" How does a teenage girl think to elude a group of ancients? How will she see our decision to come after her?" Tariq asked.

" None of us truly know what Zaria is capable of. She was around ancient vampires for most of her life." Savannah pointed out.

" Her headaches!" Gregori suddenly exclaimed, snagging the letter from Mikhail and reading it again. His sudden outburst caused everyone to jump and look at him as if he had lost his mind.

" Gregori, do you care to explain what you have figured out that we are all still clueless about?" Mikhail requested, annoyed.

" Her headaches are not headaches at all. The child is a seer. She will see our decision to come after her and she will alter the future to elude us. She sees the future based on decisions we make. We are tormenting the child with our constant decisions. That is why her head kills her when in Warrior's Council." Gregori said.

" My God, we have been torturing the child. No wonder she prefers to be around Razvan, Skyler, and others who think something through before acting or making a decision. We are driving her insane. John probably knew this and controlled his decisions." Inara gasped, her hand fluttering to her throat in silent horror.

" Exactly. That's why the attack threw her off so much. It was a spur of the moment decision by Sergey. She blames herself for John's death." Gregori said.

" Let her go. Gregori, is there any way to bring the boy back? He was her best friend." Tiberiu asked.

" I have never tried it on someone who has been dead for so long, but I may be able to bring him back." Gregori answered slowly.

" She's gone to Brazil. I saw the papers on her desk." Damalia said as she flipped through papers laying on Zaria's desk. " They're gone. I did not get the chance to see where at in Brazil." Damalia said.

" We should try to raise her friend for her return." Gregori said, calling out to all the healers for their insane idea.

Zacarias De La Cruz looked up at the sound of someone knocking softly on the front door of his home on the ranch he owned with his younger brothers. He knew it wasn't his brothers nor their lifemates. They would have called out to him on their private mental paths to warn him. It wasn't the humans who worked on the ranch either. He would have sensed their approach immediately. He sighed as the knocking persisted. This would be his last night alive. He would choose the dawn and go with honor.

The sight on his front porch startled him. A petite young woman stood there, drenched in water from the frequent rainstorms that happened in the rainforests of Brazil. Her leather clothes were clinging to her skin, her curls plastered to her face where they had fallen from the messy bun she had them pulled into. She moved suddenly, crushing her lips to his so quick that he had no chance to protest or restrain her.

She pulled away first, gasping for air, tilting her head back to look up at him. She had a slightly bemused look on her face. She clearly hadn't expected him to return the kiss. Hell, he hadn't expected to return the kiss, but it had felt right and was nearly a compulsion.

" I'm sorry. I know I'm selfish, but I cannot let you choose the dawn." She said softly.

Zacarias squeezed his eyes shut, colors darting from every conceivable place to blind him. It was disorienting along with long forgotten emotions swamping him. Her fear and trepidation of her rash decision mingling with his own arousal and hers. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. His lifemate. _His_. He had not expected to ever find her, yet at his time of need, she had appeared on his front porch.

A strange, clicking noise caught his attention. Her lips had a bluish tint to them and her teeth were chattering. She was freezing, yet she was Carpathian. She had not stopped nor given her thought to her health in an effort to get to him. He also noted a fair amount of blood coating her shoulder. She had been wounded.

" You are freezing." He made it a statement. She gave him a forced, chattering smile.

" It is raining, and you should know your brothers will figure out soon that I removed their safeguards." She paused. " If they haven't already." She added, shivering.

" Come in." He said, shackling her wrist and tugging her inside. He half expected her to resist, but she followed him willingly. He waved his hand, causing a fire to spring up in the fireplace. He led her to the hearth, forcing her to sit down.

" Er…..thanks." She said, clearly unsure what to say. He gave her a soft smile.

" My pleasure. What happened to your shoulder?" He inquired, brushing the raven curls that cascaded down her back from that annoying bun to the side. She looked over her shoulder at the nasty wound.

" Hmm. He did hit me. I didn't notice." She mused complacently. He raised his head to look her in the eyes. Her eyes were red? He filed that away to analyze later.

" What happened?" He repeated, fearing the answer. The wound had clearly been caused by claws-but claws of what?

" A very nasty vampire. He surprised me. I was making good time before I ran into him. I was forced to stop and take care of him." She replied, shrugging and grimacing as she did so.

" You did not realize you were injured?" He inquired. She shook her head.

" No, it did not start bleeding until I reached here, because it wasn't bleeding when I stopped to take the safeguards down." She stated.

" Hold still while I heal you." He ordered. She merely reached back, holding her hand over the wound and closing those vivid garnet eyes. A bright light flashed under her palm and then faded away. The wound was gone when she removed her dainty little hand. He stared at the flawless roses and cream skin before him before leaning down and pressing his lips to the exposed flesh. She shivered slightly.

" All better." She stated, looking into the fire, watching the dancing flames intently.

" That was a handy little trick." He said, noticing she was still soaking wet. He waved his hand, drying her instantly. She glanced over at him and smiled softly.

" So was that. Thanks." She said, looking away from him. Away from his intense black gaze.

" What is your name? It will make addressing you easier." He said, watching her.

" Zaria." She said, looking up at him.

" I am Zacarias De La Cruz." He replied, kissing her forehead.

" I kind of knew that. I saw you. I saw your decision to choose the dawn. I may be selfish, but I could not let you. It would have been my fault." She said, her garnet eyes boring into his.

" No, it would not have been your fault. It would have been mine for not waiting for a gift such as you." He said, cupping her face in his hands.

" I am hardly a gift, Zacarias." She said, reaching up and grabbing his wrists. Her little hands barely wrapped halfway around. It was amazing to him that such a little touch-such a little woman-could bring him such peace.

" I disagree, Zaria. No matter what, you are my gift." He said, bending his head to hers.

" You should know, Zacarias, I'm no virgin. Given the choice, I would have never betrayed you." She pleaded, looking up at him even as he pinned her lithe body to the floor. It took him a moment to realize what she was saying. When he did, he merely leaned down and kissed her.

" Never think you betrayed me, Zaria. Those things were not within your control. Even if they had been, I would not condemn you for it." He said. She stared up at him in confusion.

" Oh." Was all she replied. He looked down at her, the ritual words on his tongue. She nodded.

" You are my lifemate. I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you I give you my protection. I give you my allegiance. I give you my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life will be cherished by me for all my time. Your life will be placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate. You are bound to me for all eternity. You are always in my care." With that, he completed the ritual, taking her there on the floor by the fireplace.

Zacarias looked up at insistent pounding on his front door. He knew it was his brothers this time. All of them and their lifemates. He could feel the fear of their lifemates. He silently moved, opening the door and stepping back to allow them inside.

" You have need of me?" He inquired, feeling an all encompassing love for his brothers and their lifemates. All thanks to Zaria who was at the moment exploring his sword collection with childlike wonder. She apparently had an affinity for swords-any weapon really.

" A Malinov has breeched our safeguards. Whichever one of them it was is very skilled. We did not feel it go down." Manolito De La Cruz said, his face grim. Zacarias raised his eyebrow at his younger brother. MaryAnn-Manolito's lifemate-gasped as Zaria came into view in her leather pants, Zacarias' shirt, and barefoot with her curls falling all around her.

" Actually, that was me." She said, gliding up behind Zacarias and peeking her head around his imposing figure.

" What?" Zacarias asked, turning to face her. She looked up at him innocently.

" Unfortunately, I leave behind the presence of a Malinov. Did you know Sergey had one of these?" She asked, a jeweled hand dagger flashing into view as she held it by the tip of the blade. He grabbed her wrist and removed the dagger.

" Something about you wielding a sharp weapon worries me." He said, laying the dagger on a hall table. She frowned at him.

" I have perfect aim. Anyway, did you know that?" She asked, curious.

" I did. We all have one." He said and then hesitated. " I noticed you said had. What happened to it?" He inquired, holding her wrists. She twisted her wrists, instantly gaining her release. She moved away from him, a quick, feminine retreat. That haunted look returned to her eyes as she looked away from him.

" I buried it in his forehead." She said, shrugging as she stared into the dancing flames.

Dominic Shonski-the lifemate of Riordan De La Cruz's lifemate, Juliette's, cousin, Solange-drew in a sharp breath, studying Zacarias' lifemate. He knew her. He had heard vampires speak of her. Their voices trembled in fear when they whispered of her, refusing to speak louder.

" A child of good and evil. A child with eyes from hell. Eyes that speak of hell. Vivid garnet eyes that show one's past, present, and future. A child who can trap one in their own personal hell with one look." He paused, watching her.

Zaria curled up on the couch, pulling her knees to her chest and clamping her hands over her ears to block out the sound of his voice. She had her eyes squeezed shut, shaking her head and rocking herself as she ground her teeth together in protest.

" There's more." Solange guessed. Dominic nodded.

" A child who can control the living, dead, and undead with her voice alone. The child of the truest evil. The child born of a vampire." Dominic finished.

" Someone has been around vampires." Zaria said, her eyes blazing defiance as they rested thoughtfully on Dominic.

" I infiltrated their camp to gather information. I heard a lot of you. The child who struck fear into the heart of her own father. The child who has master vampires cowering before her." He said. Zaria was on her feet in an instant.

" Do not call him my father. Tiberiu Bercovitz is my father. Sergey is merely a pawn in the great game of chess." She stated, her hair crackling and popping with energy.

" I have never heard anyone call Sergey a pawn." Nicolas De La Cruz stated.

" You are the girl that he kidnapped from Gregori's niece. I remember that everyone was searching for you." Lara Calladine-Nicolas' lifemate, Razvan's daughter-said. Zaria nodded.

" That would be me." She allowed.

" You are the one who converted a human male." Rafael De La Cruz said. Zaria winced as if Rafael had struck her in the face.

" His name was John." She said softly, biting her bottom lip hard.

" How old are you?" Zacarias asked, silently warning Rafael away from the human male.

" Eighteen. John meant the world to me. He kept me sane. He died protecting Mikhail in a surprise attack by Sergey." Zaria said, lifting her chin defiantly.

" Sergey will not ever touch you again, little sister. We can protect you from him." Manolito said. Zaria's eyebrow shot up and she let a dark laugh slide through her lips.

" I believe Sergey is the one in need of protection. I do not fear Sergey. I welcome the chance to come face to face with him again. I will finish our game." She said, shaking her head.

" Is there actually a reason to fear you?" Jasmine-Juliette's younger sister-asked softly. Zaria's eyes swept over Jasmine, her expression thoughtful.

" No. Not for you anyway." Zaria answered honestly.


	4. Note

This is the continuation of another story, Dark Family. If you get confused, please use it for reference. It may help.


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